Gelsomina is 12 years old and living on a remote beekeeping farm in rural Italy. The surroundings are idyllic, but her family is far from it. Her sisters shirk most of the work. Her mother is tender, but overwhelmed by worry and the father Wolfgang, who is a bellowing egotist whose demands take precedence over everyone else.

Adding to the stress is a troubled German boy, Martin, whom the family is fostering because they need the money. What plot there is comes from Gelsomina’s obsession with the host of a reality show about rural products, “Countryside Wonders.” (It’s easy to understand the girl’s crush; the host is played by Monica Bellucci.)

Director Alice Rohrwacher’s movie, which took the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2014, takes a long while to pick up steam, but its tactile feel for the dirt and labor of a farm, and tender regard for the young protagonist, are immensely endearing.